American Express Company $AXP Shares Sold by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC significantly reduced its stake in American Express, selling 1,702,393 shares, representing an 84.2% decrease, leaving them with 319,480 shares valued at approximately $85.96 million.
• American Express reported strong earnings for the quarter, with $4.08 earnings per share, exceeding analyst expectations of $3.86, and a revenue of $17.86 billion, up 9.3% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82, yielding 1.1%, and has a dividend payout ratio of 23.02% as of its last reported filing.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 84.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 319,480 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,702,393 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $85,956,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new stake in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total transaction of $15,475,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 10,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. This trade represents a 82.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 16,998 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.83, for a total transaction of $5,011,520.34. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 9,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,653,764.83. This trade represents a 65.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 134,219 shares of company stock valued at $40,555,901. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Price Performance

AXP traded down $1.8250 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $305.2250. The stock had a trading volume of 771,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,924,943. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61. American Express Company has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $329.14. The business has a fifty day moving average of $307.33 and a 200 day moving average of $289.90. The company has a market cap of $212.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BTIG Research set a $277.00 target price on American Express and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Barclays lifted their target price on American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $311.05.

About American Express

American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as integrated payments company in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Canada, the Caribbean, and Internationally. It operates through four segments: U.S. Consumer Services, Commercial Services, International Card Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services.